oldfarthenry:Dancin_In_Anson: Saw the headliner list this morning...aside from Soundgarden and Willie Nelson it SUCKED. Now Canada has dumped it's trash on Austin. SXSW has officially jumped the shark.

Sorry, Texass - 'merikuh made him/her famous. Deal with it.

Sadly, the Canadians have a point here. One of our own created this little monster.

My band played SXSW in 2010 and it was a really fun time. Got a lot of good exposure, met some incredible contacts that would later help us launch our first national tour, and generally just had a raucous, awesome week.

We went back for the first time since then last year and I was SHOCKED by how much things had changed in just a few years. It had ballooned in size and spilled into parts of Austin that were decidedly sketchy back in 2010 but now looked completely gentrified. The midsize venues we played back in '10 were taken over by big-name acts that certainly didn't need the exposure. And the food, while still delicious, was so farking expensive.

i know that even 2010 was a bit too late to the party for "i remember when" stories but damn.

Dancin_In_Anson:Saw the headliner list this morning...aside from Soundgarden and Willie Nelson it SUCKED. Now Canada has dumped it's trash on Austin. SXSW has officially jumped the shark.

If you do it right, you don't go to SXSW to see the headliners any more. Nobody can afford it, anyway; it's like $700 for a music badge this year.

Instead, you go to all of the unofficial events. Most of them are co-sponsored by an indie label and a booze company, so you get to listen to lesser-known (but still really good) bands and drink for free.

Dancin_In_Anson:Saw the headliner list this morning...aside from Soundgarden and Willie Nelson it SUCKED. Now Canada has dumped it's trash on Austin. SXSW has officially jumped the shark.

Seems to be the theme for concerts this year....the Rock On The Range lineup blows as well this year. Columbus is also attempting something similar to SXSW this year and since Victora's Secret is based in Columbus they are reportedly involved...that should be interesting. (don't remember the details but it was described in the Columbus Dispatch last week)

Kid the Universe:My band played SXSW in 2010 and it was a really fun time. Got a lot of good exposure, met some incredible contacts that would later help us launch our first national tour, and generally just had a raucous, awesome week.

We went back for the first time since then last year and I was SHOCKED by how much things had changed in just a few years. It had ballooned in size and spilled into parts of Austin that were decidedly sketchy back in 2010 but now looked completely gentrified. The midsize venues we played back in '10 were taken over by big-name acts that certainly didn't need the exposure. And the food, while still delicious, was so farking expensive.

i know that even 2010 was a bit too late to the party for "i remember when" stories but damn.